Thai parliament chooses veteran leader as speaker

Veteran politician Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, leader of the Prachachart party, was named as the speaker of the newly elected Thai House of Representatives on Tuesday, after Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn inaugurated the opening of parliament on Monday.

As the only nominee for the post of House Speaker, 79-year-old Wan Noor's appointment is seen as another milestone for the coalition of parties that won the May 14 election.

Led by the 42-year-old former executive of Grab Thailand, a Southeast Asian multinational technological firm, Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward party gained overwhelming support from young voters in the election, in the capital Bangkok in particular. It has teamed up with the populist Pheu Thai party and forged a coalition alongside six smaller parties to form the next government.

Wan Noor's first task after taking up the post will be to convene a session of parliament to decide on the prime minister. Although the eight parties had previously agreed to back Pita as Thailand's next prime minister, there are still uncertainties as that requires the vote of more than 376 members of the bicameral legislature.

Pita and his party still face legal challenges as Pita has been accused of violating a constitutional ban on politicians holding shares in a media company.

According to Thai election law, a candidate is constitutionally barred from contesting an election if he or she owns stakes in a media company. The Election Commission has started a probe into the complaints.

"If Pita does not receive the required 376 votes from the Senate and Parliament, MFP (Move Forward Party) will have to serve as an opposition party and wait for the next general election. Whenever that may be, there is still hope for a landslide," said Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, dean of the College of Local Administration at Khon Kaen University.

But if Pita fails to become prime minister, whether by falling short of the necessary votes or by being disqualified by the Election Commission, the situation would be "desirable" for Pheu Thai, Katsuyuki Takahashi, a professor at the College of ASEAN Community Studies in Thailand's Naresuan University, said in a recent interview with TIME.

He noted the Pheu Thai party has three candidates.

Still, if Pita succeeds in becoming the next prime minister, he may find it difficult to transform the country and bring a real change as the party promised to the voters, Peerasit said.